


What the Stars Don't Know

by Caiatra



Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: Canon Divergence, Character Study, Ficlet, Fluff, Gen, One Shot, Self-Discovery, ThunderClan (Warriors), but we dont focus on that, cinderpelts the only one in starclan with braincells sorry everyone, listen i know she's supposed to be possessing cinderheart, not really any angst, theres mentions of a fight but i assure u they both apologize after this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-30
Updated: 2019-08-30
Packaged: 2020-09-30 14:23:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20448572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caiatra/pseuds/Caiatra
Summary: Hollypaw leaves camp to talk to Starclan after she and Leafpool have a disagreement.





	What the Stars Don't Know

The sour taste of an argument still lingers in Hollypaw's mouth. Shaking the memory from her head, she moves further from the camp, padding down grassy hills. The glass surface of the Moonpool stares back, mapping the sky with ease. She stops at the edge, dipping her head in respect to the stars below and above, and taking a drink of the water.  
When she opens her eyes again she holds her breath- expecting to be somewhere else. Maybe she wasn't supposed to drink from it? Or perhaps it only answers to true medicine cats. Growing upset, she dismisses the thought with a flick of her tail and a sigh. She'd just have to wait. 

And wait. 

And wait. 

And - oh Starclan, can't you come any faster?

Letting a huff of air out through her nose, she turns to leave. Bitter tears begin to swell in her eyes, but she refuses their company. So maybe she wasn't destined to be a medicine cat- so what? She'd just be the best at something else.

"Where are you off to, little one?" A voice like a soft bell cuts through the night air.

She whips around. Standing there- at the edge of the Moonpool where she was moments before- is a cat, stars woven into her fur. It takes Hollypaw's breath away, and the tears have gone in an instant.

"You're beautiful." Is what she stutters out, choking back the heat rising in her pelt.

A laugh, "Why thank you. But I'm sure you didn't come here to flatter me."

With a wave of her tail, the fluffy star-cat offers her a place to sit. What else can Hollypaw do but accept? So she moves back towards the Moonpool, sitting across from the ethereal being that beckoned her.

"What's troubling you?"

A simple question, but Hollypaw feels the weight of it crash down on her.

"I don't know what my destiny is." She confesses, "I thought it might be the same as my brothers. Or that I was meant to be in the medicine den but-"

She thinks of the fight she and her mentor had earlier, after she had given a patient catmint instead of mint- which would have been fine if it had not been the last of their supply. Leafpool had sent her out to look and there were no more plants, only sprigs that wouldn't be of much use. Leafpool had gotten frantic when she found out, knowing that they wouldn't grow by the time leaf-bare came, and had snapped at Hollypaw. That's when she promptly left camp and hid from the patrol sent after her. And now she was here. Talking about her problems to a cat made of stars.

"I don't think I belong there either." Her voice became choked up.

"Do you want to belong in the medicine den?"

"Yes, more than anything but-"

"There's no but. If that's what you desire then do it. A mistake like this shouldn't be what stops you."

"But what about destiny? What the stars have planned?"

The cat snorts as if she finds that amusing, looking down at the Moonpool, "Cats like to think that someone out there has control of what happens to them, which is why they turn to Starclan for guidance. However, not even we know that much. We're only messengers of prophecies, we don't make them."

She stands, three legs planted firmly on the ground- one injured and broken, "Your destiny is decided by the path you will your paws to take, not the path you think the stars have made for you. I chose to be a medicine cat, not because of my injury, but because I saw something beautiful in being able to help others like my mentor had helped me."

"But what if I make more mistakes?" She asks.

The stars in her fur shimmer as she looks into Hollypaw's eyes, "Being a medicine cat is not about how good you are in the beginning, its about how you help others in the end."

Hollypaw breaks into a smile, jumping up to her paws, "Then I'm going to be the greatest medicine cat the clans have ever seen!"

"There, now you have it!" The cat smiles up to her eyes, glittering with pride.

"Thank you..." She lingers, waiting for a name.

The starry cat catches her meaning with ease, smiling once more. She stands, facing towards the pool and gifting the name over her shoulder before dipping her paws into the water, and walking forward. Her figure dissipates into the clear pool of night sky.

"Cinderpelt."

**Author's Note:**

> I just rlly hate it when the Erins shove their disabled characters in the med cat hole so I fixed it for them. also med cat Hollyleaf rights.
> 
> and if any of this doesn't make sense that's because its nearly 4 am


End file.
